


The Sun Sets in the West

by ottercakes (sc6997019)



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, Mostly Fluff, One Shot, Overdue Spooktober prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27722066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sc6997019/pseuds/ottercakes
Summary: A long overdue Spooktober prompt requested by sc6997019. A daring mortal and a vampire who's afraid of the dark--their lives will be forever linked by one fateful night in the forest.
Relationships: Tori Vega & Jade West, Tori Vega/Jade West
Kudos: 36





	The Sun Sets in the West

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Victorious fic--I don't actually watch the show, but I know enough about Jade and Tori to create an AU like this. Hope it's mostly accurate in terms of characters. Anyways, this was pretty fun, hope you enjoy! I'd appreciate any feedback, and you can also leave prompts in the comments--I mainly do Bechloe/Pitch Perfect ships, but I'm open to doing Victorious, Lumity (The Owl House), Cazzie (Atypical), Emisue (Dickinson), Ellie/Aster (The Half of It), etc. :)

Tori gleefully plopped down on the large slab of stone planted in the middle of the sunlight-dappled glade. The clearing was lined with small saplings just within the border of thick redwoods, and seemed almost too perfect to be natural. The stone was thickly cloaked in a soft moss, the grass was peppered with tiny blue flowers, and there was even a small stream trickling along the side of the clearing, meandering back into the dark wood.

_Cursed?_ _Haunted?_ She gave a small laugh. It was beautiful. Enchanted, maybe. But this place showed no evidence of the dark, harrowing figures or eerie voices that supposedly possessed the woods. But as soon as she began closing her eyes to the gentle murmur of the creek, she heard a twig snap and jumped behind the stone, peering over it into the darkness. She might be brave, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew when it was appropriate to hide before further action could be taken.

Tori’s breath hitched in her throat when she saw the being in question finally show itself-- _ herself _ . A girl stood in the shade of a tree, just close enough to the sunlight that Tori could make out her face. She had long, dark locks that fell gently to the side of one eye, wore tight, black jeans and a black leather jacket over a gray shirt, and had skin so pale it could have been glowing. Tori let out a shaky breath as she took in the girl’s appearance. She was...beautiful. So beautiful that Tori felt herself rising to her feet before quickly snapping back into consciousness and crouching down once more.

Studying the girl more closely, Tori realized that she looked...anxious. She nervously wrung her hands as she gazed longingly into the sunlit glade, periodically glancing behind her as if in fear of ambush. The girl let out a shaky breath and squeezed her eyes closed, muttering something to herself and trying to slow her breathing. After a few moments, she looked back out into the clearing, and took a step towards it, before yanking up her sleeve and gazing at her pale skin, then shaking her head and turning around. She took a few reluctant steps into the woods once more, took one more look at the clearing, and began heading back through the trees. 

Tori felt a pang of disappointment. Something was just so intriguing about the girl, and suddenly she realized that she wanted nothing more in the entire world than to meet this mysterious person. Quickly hurtling over the stone and sprinting through the trees, she called out. “Wait! Wait, stop!”

As soon as she’d left the glade, the woods became darker that she’d expected--so dark, in fact, that she didn’t realize that the girl actually had stopped and turned around just before Tori barreled into her and landed on top of her on the ground, inches away from her face. 

“What the--” the girl’s striking blue eyes suddenly snapped up, growing wide with shock, as she hastily scrambled away from Tori.

“Hey, I just…” Tori was cautiously stepping closer to the girl, who hurried back farther into the woods with each step she took.

“Don’t come closer.”

“Uh...okay? I just...you looked a bit...nervous about something? And I just wanted to--”

The girl was still glancing around fearfully at the trees. She fixed Tori with a venomous glare. “What, you wanted to  _ help _ ?” she snarled. “I don’t need your help,...” she muttered something under her breath and smirked to herself.

“What was that?” Tori demanded.

“Hmm? Nothing,” the girl responded with an irritatingly innocent smile.

“Tell me what you said.” Tori took a couple steps closer, driving the girl back into the forest.

“No.”

Tori picked up her pace, walking briskly over to her. “Tell me. Now.”

Stumbling backwards and having given up on her self-assured demeanor, the girl looked increasingly paranoid and nervous, barely looking at Tori anymore as her head snapped around, as if she was trying to see everything behind her all at once.

“Okay! Fine.” She spat the last word with frustrated hate. She opened her mouth again as if she was about to speak, but instead let out a dramatic groan and screwed up her face as if her defeat was causing her a great amount of pain and sorrow. Finally, letting out one last huffy breath, she snapped, “For God’s sake, I said, ‘mortal,’ okay? Now get  _ away _ from me, Tor--” her eyes flashed open wide as she tried to backpedal. “I mean--what’s--what’s your name?” 

Tori just stared at her in shock, mouth slightly agape. “Wh-- ‘mortal’? And  _ how do you know my name? _ ”

She took a threatening step closer, but the girl quickly whipped around her so that her back was now to the glade. “You don’t need to know that.”

Tori raised her eyebrows. “Actually, I do. Do you know how  _ creepy _ that is? I don’t know you! I don’t know your name! I’ve never seen you before! And...and you know me? My name, at least?”

“Okay, fine. My name’s Jade. See? Now we’re even.”

Tori glared at her. “Okay...just...can we like, talk? For a bit? I think you owe me that much for apparently stalking me.”

“I wasn’t stalking you. But... _ fine. _ ” Tori almost laughed at how hard the girl--Jade--was trying to make herself sound as unenthusiastic about it as possible, but she knew that she had to pretend not to notice if she was going to get through to her at all.

So Tori smiled and said, “Good.” She walked over to the glade, but Jade had already taken a seat on a log just beside the stream. She motioned for Tori to sit on another log across from her, and Tori obliged. “So, wanna tell me how you know my name now?”

Jade shifted uncomfortably. Tori’s heart softened a bit. This was clearly hard for her--something told her that she wasn’t the type to usually admit things. “Hey, it--it’s okay, alright? I won’t get mad or anything…”

Jade nodded slightly. “Uh...well, I was on the outskirts of the forest one day and I...heard someone call your name, and yeah...I just...have a great memory…?”

Tori gave her a small smile. “Okay. Now, wanna tell me the truth?”

Jade gave another exasperated sigh. “ _ Fine _ . Well...that was the truth...not the whole truth, I guess...I don’t know, alright? I saw you once outside the woods, and...I wanted to know your name, so I came back a few times, and I heard people call you Tori, so, yeah, I remembered. Happy?”

Tori bit her lower lip and cocked her head playfully. “Why’d ya want to know my name?”

“‘Cause you’re…” Jade huffed as if frustrated, but Tori saw a blush form on her pale cheeks. “Pretty, I guess?” She rolled her eyes again for good measure.

Tori’s eyebrows shot up. Jade glared at her again. “You could say that  _ I’m _ pretty,” she snapped, her walls building back up again before Tori’s eyes.

“You are pretty.” Tori almost giggled at the sight of Jade’s cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red, but caught herself. “Why...why did you call me a mortal?”

“‘Cause you are one, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but...what are...you?” Tori asked tentatively, worried something she’d say would scare Jade off.

Jade scoffed. “You don’t want to know.”

“Actually, I do.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Jade. Tell me, please? I won’t get weird, whatever it is.”

Jade shook her head. “I wish I could tell you...but…” she sighed, but it sounded weary instead of contemptuous. “You wouldn’t like it.”

“I promise, whatever it is, I...I won’t judge you. I won’t get mad, or scared, or...I have no idea what it is--or, what you are--but I...I wouldn’t be like that.”

Jade just fingered the sleeve of her jacket. “We’ll see about that.”

Tori glanced up at the sky as she got up. “It’s getting a bit late...but...thanks, for whatever this was, Jade.”

She carefully picked her way around the logs to head back the way she came, but froze when she heard Jade call for her to wait. She turned around, trying to hide the smile forming on her lips as she looked at a visibly embarrassed Jade. “Stay?”

Tori didn’t need her to say any more. She made her way back over to the logs, but this time, sat on the edge of Jade’s. The dark-haired girl backed away a bit, but Tori didn’t move. “Jade?”

“Mm?”

“Why won’t you let me get near you?”

Jade’s mouth twitched as she thought about her response. “Um...it’s not anything personal against you, I promise...but you don’t want to be near me.”

“Like how I ‘don’t want to know what you are?’”

“Yeah. Like that.”

Tori frowned. It was astonishing (and pleasing) how quickly she’d broken down Jade’s walls, but they just revealed a girl who looked far too sad, fearful, and vulnerable for her age.

Tori sighed. “Hey. It’s okay if you don’t want me to know what you are just yet, but...maybe want to share something else about yourself? I can go first, if you want,” she offered. Jade glanced up at the darkening sky, drawing her knees up to her chest, and nodded.

“Okay...um…” Tori searched her mind for something extremely personal and possibly embarrassing or shameful that she could share with Jade. It was an odd feeling, but something just made her want to know everything about the mysterious girl. She wanted to share everything about herself with her, and she wanted to know what was going on with Jade. She couldn’t help but be intrigued by her, drawn to her.

Tori’s face reddened as she reluctantly decided on the perfect memory. “Oh, God…”

Jade’s brows furrowed as she gave a tentative smile, intrigued. “What is it?”

“Uh...I peed my pants at school…?” Tori laughed, a little uncomfortably, but she was consoled by the look of surprise and humor that graced Jade’s normally menacing features. 

“What? How?”

“Uh, it was between classes...I didn’t go at lunch even though I had to ‘cause I’m an  _ idiot _ , and I was too embarrassed to say anything in the class I had after--I assumed the teacher would say no, anyways--and...I was going to go to the bathroom, but this  _ really  _ pretty girl came over and started talking to me, so...the moment she left it sorta just happened…” She paused, not sure if she should say the next thing. “And...it wasn’t a long time ago…it was like...3 months ago?”

Jade stared at her for a moment with an unreadable expression, and Tori began to wonder if she was disgusted by her, but a laugh suddenly escaped her lips and Tori, relieved, laughed along with her.

“So. Your turn.”

Jade’s face fell. “Um…” She paused. “I dunno.”

Tori frowned. “Come on, there must be  _ something _ . I promise, I won’t judge or anything. You can tell me.”

The earnestness of her voice spurred Jade on. “It’s  _ so _ stupid.”

“No, it’s not.”

Jade looked at her quizzically. “You don’t even know what it is.”

Tori shrugged. “It’s not stupid, whatever it is.”

Jade bit her lip and bounced her knee as she thought about how to say it. “Uh...I haven’t told anyone this--probably because I don’t talk to people that much,” she said with a bitter laugh. “Um, I just...don’t really...like the dark,” she said, trying to sound unconcerned. “But,” she added quickly, “if you tell  _ anyone _ , I will  _ find you and make you eat your own vocal cords. _ ”

Tori smiled warmly at her, as if she hadn’t heard the last part. “Jade, that’s not stupid. That’s not stupid at all.” Jade shifted uncomfortably. “I’m really glad you told me, I was worried an assassin was actually chasing you or something.”

Jade didn’t respond, just glanced up at the dusky sky again. “Hey, I’ll stay for as long as you want, okay?” Tori said softly. Jade nodded mutely.

“Tori?”

“Yeah?”

“Keep me awake, okay?”

“Sure.”

“And, Tori?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m tired of acting...tough around you. So...I don’t really want to do that anymore...okay?” She stared at the ground, cheeks red. “Don’t tell anyone,” she added sheepishly.

Tori grinned. Vulnerable, flustered Jade was definitely her favorite, she decided. “Who would I even tell? But yeah, of course I won’t tell.” 

The two spent a while making small talk as the stars wheeled forth in the sky, the last traces of orange light being chased away. Jade was getting antsier as the shadows of the trees thickened, and jumped nearly a foot in the air when a pinecone fell from a nearby tree. 

Luckily, the dark allowed Tori to get more physically near Jade without her noticing, and by the time it was fully dark, she was just a couple feet away. “Hey, Jade?”

“Mm?”

“I’m ready to know wha--”

“Nope.”

Tori frowned at her. “Why?”

Jade sighed. “You’ll freak out. Or...tell someone.”

“I won’t. I promise.” Tori groaned. “Give me a hint? Maybe if I gradually figure it out myself, I won’t be as surprised or shocked?”

Jade looked at her. “Fine.”

Tori tried to hide the delight on her face as she nodded earnestly. Jade thought for a moment, then said, “Okay. What about my appearance makes me so different from humans?”

“We already established this. You’re beautiful.”

“No!” Jade blushed deeply again, her cheeks contrasting sharply with her…

“Oh!” Tori exclaimed. “You’ve got super pale skin?”

Jade nodded. Tori looked at her expectantly, then groaned again. “That’s it? That’s all you’re gonna give me?”

“What? You said ‘a hint.’ But really,” she added after a pause, “you...don’t get it yet?” she murmured quietly.

Tori looked her up and down, taking in her sharp features, black outfit, pure white skin, bloodred lips. “I...think I do,” she murmured quietly.

“But you don’t want to believe it, do you? You’re scared. Creeped out.” Jade stood and scoffed, her voice rising with each word. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you! I just set myself up to lose the only person I ever l--” Jade stopped. She was just shaking her head, her face returning to its familiar look of contempt and disgust.

“Jade! Whoa, what--where--how--what did I do?” Tori was staring at Jade in shock. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“Well, it’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“No!” Tori sighed. “No, Jade. I still think you’re more vulnerable than anyone will ever see, including you, I still think you’re lonely and need a friend, which I hope is me, and I  _ still _ think you’re the most gorgeous...being...I know, even if you’re a vampire.”

Jade froze. Her chin began quivering, and the moment Tori threw her arms around her and held her, she collapsed into sobs, breaking Tori’s heart with every tear that soaked into her shirt. 

After a few moments, Jade pulled away, turned from Tori and self-consciously wiped her eyes. “Jade?” Tori murmured tentatively. “Jade, it--it’s okay to feel vulnerable, you know. Listen, I know we’ve only known each other for a few hours, but...I just want you to know that you can feel safe around me, okay?”

Jade bit her lip. “Um...well, you’ve only known  _ me _ for a few hours. I...experience time a bit differently than you do--basically my brain sort of moves at superspeed when I’m interacting with others, processing everything about them, so...it’s a bit like I’ve sort of known you for five months.”

Tori widened her eyes. “Wh--uh...oh, well, then all the more reason why you shouldn’t feel nervous around me. And I know this sounds cheesy,” she added, “but...it feels like I’ve known you all my life. Like...this isn’t an introduction, it’s a reunion.”

Jade gave her the tiniest of smiles, then glanced up at the sky. “How long until sunrise?”

Tori frowned. “About 6 hours still,” she said apologetically.

Jade sighed. “Tired,” she mumbled.

“Why don’t you get some sleep, then?” Tori suggested.

Jade shook her head. “Can’t. I can never sleep during the night. Today I wasn’t able to during the day, either...guess I’ll just have to wait until morning.”

Tori thought for a moment. “Would...it help if I stayed up? I’ll keep watch, I’ll make sure you’re safe. I promise,” she added with such earnestness that Jade couldn’t bring herself to say no. 

“O--okay,” she murmured. “Tori--” she looked like she was about to say something, but quickly mumbled, “never mind,” and looked away. “Just--sometimes my dreams are...intense,” she murmured, biting her lip.

Tori shrugged. “Then I’ll just wake you up,” she said. 

Jade, still looking uncertain, hesitantly nodded, then curled up on the log, her dark locks cascading off of the wood. As she settled down, Tori could see a smile twitch across her lips, her features relaxed and calm. Turning so that she could lay down on the log, she gazed up at the stars. Maybe lack of sleep was making her loopy, but she quietly mumbled, “please...let her be gay”as she sighed contentedly and let her thoughts wander.

Tori was mumbling the names of all the constellations she could spot for the seventh time when she heard a murmur from the sleeping Jade beside her. She glanced over at the vampire, expecting her to quiet down as she usually did, but her brow was furrowed and she seemed to be pleading to someone.

“Please, no,” she whimpered. “I don’t want to go, please don’t make me!”

Tori felt a pang of pity at the sight of Jade so vulnerable. “No, don’t make me go...don’t take her away! No!  _ No!”  _ Jade shrieked, writhing so much that Tori had to grab her shoulders to make sure she didn’t fall. “ _ No! Don’t--she’s--no! _ ” Jade sobbed, thrashing against Tori’s hands.

“Jade! Wake up, Jade, it’s just a dream!” Tori said, trying to steady the dark-haired girl. “Jade, please, wake up! Jade!”

Jade’s eyes flew open as she sat up abruptly, breathing heavily and tears still streaming down her face. 

“Jade? Are you--are you alright?” Tori asked tentatively.

“I’m fine. I’m okay,” Jade responded quickly, taking a deep breath. “Sorry about that,” she murmured sheepishly.

“It’s nothing to apologize for,” Tori quickly assured her.”

Jade nodded, hastily wiping her face. “Thanks,” she mumbled. She studied the hem of her shirt, twisting it between her fingers.

Tori frowned. The vampire’s eyebrows were still knit together and anxiety was etched all over her face. “Jade? You alright? You--you look like you want to say something.”

Jade bit her lip, trying to make sense of the thoughts swirling around in her brain. A million voices shouted a million directions at her, and her lips remained slightly parted before she spoke. “I--” her mouth moved like she was going to say “do,” but what she ended up saying instead was “am.”

Her cheeks immediately reddened and her face felt like it was on fire, but Tori just cocked her head in confusion.

“What...what do you mean, you ‘are’?”

Jade’s breath caught in her throat, every molecule in her body buzzing with nerves. “Um…” the vampire pressed her knees together, fidgeting with her hands. “I...I wasn’t asleep when you...um...said…” She trailed off, sucking in a deep breath and looking at Tori nervously, waiting for that look of realization to dawn on her face.

The crease between Tori’s brows slowly smoothed, her jaw falling open a bit before she buried her face in her hands. “Oh my God…” she looked up at a visibly uncomfortable Jade, face red. “You...heard that?”

The vampire nodded, biting her lip. She sucked in a breath, waiting for Tori to process what she’d said earlier. Tori groaned, screwing her eyes shut and hoping for the ground to swallow her up. When it became apparent that that wasn’t going to happen and she became aware of Jade still awkwardly studying the ground, she took a deep breath.

“Um, so…” How was she supposed to say this without making it even more uncomfortable for both of them? “You, um...are…?”

Jade nodded.

“But you don’t...um, I mean, do you, uh...li--” Tori paused. That sounded childish, but she didn’t know how else to ask. 

“Tori?” 

Tori glanced up at the nervous girl, grateful that she didn’t have to try to keep talking. The moment she did, Jade took a deep breath and pulled Tori’s face to hers with both hands, pressing her dark lips against the other girl’s and quickly jumping back away, face bright red.

Tori sat there, frozen in shock. Finally regaining control of her senses, she leaned back over to Jade, but the dark-haired girl quickly moved farther away. “No, Tori,” she whispered, “don’t.”

The confusion returned to her face. “What? Wh--but you--”

“I know.” Jade bit her lip. “Tori, I--I really like you. I promise. So...I don’t...want to hurt you,” she said. “If I...lose control for a moment…” she trailed off, running her tongue over her teeth. She pulled up the right side of her upper lip, revealing a sharp fang where a normal canine tooth would be.

Tori shook her head slowly. “Jade, I’m not afraid of you. You won’t hurt me,” she said.

“You don’t know that.”

Tori slowly leaned closer to Jade, who flinched but didn’t move away. She brought a hand up to the vampire’s cheek, gently guiding her lips back to her own. Just before they touched, she murmured, “Yes, I do.”

The last bit of Jade that was half-heartedly warning her to avoid Tori evaporated the moment her lips were back on the other girl’s. She reached up and tangled her fingers in Tori’s brown locks, ending up on her back as Tori leaned over her.

The vampire let out a soft gasp as Tori deepened the kiss, reaching up to pull the back of the girl’s head closer to her. When the two finally broke apart, they were both slightly out of breath, grinning as their faces remained just inches away from each other’s. 

“Wow,” Jade whispered, cheeks flushing as Tori giggled at her.

“‘Wow’ indeed,” the human girl murmured. 

The two sat up, still not taking their eyes off of each other as if they were afraid that the other could disappear at any moment.

“Um,” Jade said, looking nervous again.

Tori cocked her head. “Mm-hmm?”

“I was wondering…” she continued, “if maybe...possibly…” she paused, trying to find the right words. “Only if you’re interested--

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

Jade looked at her in surprise. “Wh--uh--y--yeah,” she stammered. “Yeah, I--I’d like that.”

Tori grinned. “That was what you were going to ask, wasn’t it?”

Jade nodded. “Yeah.” She glanced up at the sky. The faintest hints of dawn were creeping upon the inky blackness, and she could see the glow of the sun illuminating the hills in the distance. “Tori?”

The girl hummed in reply.

“Stay?”

Tori smiled. “I wasn’t even thinking of leaving.” She scooted closer to Jade and motioned for the vampire to lay her head in her lap.

“Tori?” Jade murmured again after a moment. “You don’t have to be with me. You can go home. You don’t even have to come back if you don’t want to. You probably like home a lot better, don’t you?”

Tori frowned. “Where’s this coming from? I’ll go home eventually, but I’m coming back. Why would you think that I wouldn’t wanna come back?”

Jade shrugged. “I dunno. It’s dark here. I don’t like the dark, and even if you don’t mind it, you’ll get tired of it. But around me, it’s always dark. The sun rises in the east and sets in the West,” she muttered with a sigh.

“It’s gonna take a lot more than the dark to keep me away from you,” Tori murmured. “And really, it doesn’t matter what happens any time other than right now, because right now, we’re sitting on a log in a picturesque forest at the break of dawn, and we make a hot-ass couple, and you know what, shut up and kiss me again.”

“I wasn’t talki--” She was cut off by Tori’s lips pressed against hers, and for once, she realized, she was quite glad to be interrupted.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hope you enjoyed! Again, feedback and other prompts are welcome!


End file.
